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2026-03-27T12:58:24.780Z
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2026-03-27T12:56:31.662Z
The powerful duo of Edoardo Affini and Jan Tratnik formed to try and join the leading trio, but the peloton were alert to the danger they posed and brought them back.
2026-03-27T12:55:15.369Z
160KM TO GO
Bastien Tronchon (Groupama-FDJ), Nickolas Zukowsky (Pinarello Q36.5) and Michiel Lambrecht (Team Flanders – Baloise) have 30 seconds now. The peloton hasn’t sat up yet, but their hoped-for status as break of the day is looking promising.
2026-03-27T12:48:54.833Z
The trio’s lead continues to grow, it’s now at nearly 30 seconds.
2026-03-27T12:48:05.087Z
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2026-03-27T12:46:27.795Z
This move is looking promising, with their lead growing. UAE and Picnic-PostNL tried to cover the move with Julius Johansen and Bjorn Koerdt respectively, but both are back in the peloton.
2026-03-27T12:42:45.525Z
170KM TO GO
2026-03-27T12:40:22.632Z
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2026-03-27T12:38:37.035Z
That’s the climbs done for a while. There are 16 in total today, but the remaining 15 are all condensed within the final 130km.
2026-03-27T12:35:03.391Z
The five riders have been reabsorbed into the peloton.
2026-03-27T12:34:23.148Z
(Image credit: Getty Images)
2026-03-27T12:33:21.849Z
KATTEBERG
2026-03-27T12:32:23.387Z
We have a first DNF to report – Fabio Jakobsen, who also had to pull out of Ronde Van Brugges earlier this week.
2026-03-27T12:30:53.208Z
Those riders have been joined by a sixth, Henri-François Renard-Haquin, and lead the peloton by a slender margin of just a few seconds.
2026-03-27T12:26:44.286Z
Those five riders are: Artem Shmidt, Roel van Sintmaartensdijk, Alexys Brunel, Dylan Vandenstorme and Alexandre Mayer.
2026-03-27T12:25:36.649Z
A new group of five has formed, and lead the peloton by a few seconds.
2026-03-27T12:22:17.778Z
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2026-03-27T12:19:39.381Z
Five more riders briefly got a gap, but they too have been caught.
2026-03-27T12:19:16.488Z
The attempt earlier of the quartet featuring Marco Haller to escape from the peloton.
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2026-03-27T12:17:47.833Z
190KM TO GO
2026-03-27T12:14:56.301Z
Affini has been brought back.
2026-03-27T12:13:22.136Z
(Image credit: Getty Images)
2026-03-27T12:12:06.282Z
Visma’s Edoardo Affini is the latest to try an attack.
2026-03-27T12:10:20.059Z
The four attackers have been brought back and the race is all together again.
2026-03-27T12:09:54.934Z
(Image credit: Getty Images)
2026-03-27T12:08:42.594Z
Those four riders are Marco Haller, Kamil Małecki, Filip Maciejuk and Milan Lanhove.
2026-03-27T12:05:40.797Z
200KM TO GO
2026-03-27T11:59:18.552Z
Van der Poel at the start.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
2026-03-27T11:57:25.640Z
The weather is always a crucial factor in the Belgian classics, and right now the skies are grey – but no rain has materialised. The forecast suggests there’s a chance that might change later in the day.
2026-03-27T11:55:38.286Z
There have been some tweaks to the route this year, with extra ascents of both the Oude Kwaremont and Karnemelkbeekstraat (aka the E3 Col) added.
2026-03-27T11:52:22.174Z
OFFICIAL START
2026-03-27T11:52:00.639Z
There’s one non-starter who was supposed to be taking part today – Lotto’s Luca Van Boven.
2026-03-27T11:50:58.560Z
Already underway is stage 5 of Volta a Catalunya, which you can also follow with us.
2026-03-27T11:49:52.248Z
The riders have departed Harelbeke football stadium and begun the neutralised section, which is only 3km today. They’ll be racing imminently!
2026-03-27T11:46:09.439Z
Mathieu van der Poel with his Alpecin teammates at the start.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
2026-03-27T11:42:34.935Z
Before the race gets going, have a read of our full run-down of the main men to keep an eye on today.
2026-03-27T11:37:25.157Z
At least on paper, Mads Pedersen is the biggest threat to Van der Poel’s title defence. Pedersen is another rider with question marks about his fitness, following the crash that kept him out of action for several weeks. But whereas Van der Poel faded towards the end of Milan-Sanremo, he was resurgent, and managed to sprint for fourth place.
2026-03-27T11:31:32.743Z
The headline name on the startlist is Mathieu van der Poel, who’s going for three consecutive E3 titles, following his long-range solo victories in both 2024 and 2025. Victory in a similar way at Omloop Nieuwsblad suggests he’s got the legs to do the same again this year – but how well has he managed to recover from his crash at Milan-Sanremo?
2026-03-27T11:24:47.986Z
After Wednesday’s Ronde Van Brugges kicked off the Flemish ‘Holy Week’, this is where the cobbled classics season starts to get really hard. There are a lot more climbs on the menu today, in a race that’s considered to be the closest in proximity to the Tour of Flanders due to its difficulty.
2026-03-27T11:19:40.629Z
Hello and welcome to the 2026 E3 Saxo Classic!
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